Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Charm City Shield is a community safety camera network operated by Safe House Privacy LLC, doing business as SHP Consulting (“SHP,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). We are based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Our websites:

• charmcityshield.com
• lina.charmcityshield.com
• bhn.charmcityshield.com

Contact us:

• Email: support@safehouseprivacy.com
• Phone: 443-808-0745

This Privacy Policy applies to our websites and to the camera network infrastructure we operate. It explains what information we collect, how we use it, and what rights you have.

2. What the Charm City Shield Network Does

Charm City Shield deploys and manages community security camera networks in Baltimore neighborhoods. Our current deployments are in Little Italy and Brewers Hill.

Here is what the network does — and what it does not do:

What cameras record:

• Cameras capture video only — there is no audio recording of any kind. Maryland law requires the consent of all parties to record private conversations, and we do not record audio at all.
• Cameras are pointed exclusively at public rights-of-way: streets, sidewalks, and intersections.
• Cameras are never aimed at the interior of private homes, backyards, or other private areas.

How footage is monitored:

• Video is recorded continuously, but no one actively monitors the footage 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Footage is only retrieved in response to a specific incident report submitted by a community member, or in response to a lawful request from law enforcement.

Who decides whether footage is released:

• Each neighborhood served by Charm City Shield has a volunteer safety committee made up of residents. This committee — not SHP — reviews incident reports and decides whether to authorize access to footage.
• SHP's role is technical: we install and maintain equipment and retrieve footage when authorized by the committee. We do not make access decisions.

3. Information We Collect

3.1 Incident Report Submissions

When a community member submits an incident report through our website, we collect:

Anonymous reporting: You may submit an incident report without providing your name, email, or phone number. We will still collect the incident details and location, but we will have no way to contact you for follow-up.

3.2 Safety Committee Dashboard

Authorized members of neighborhood safety committees have access to a password-protected dashboard. We collect login credentials and activity logs for committee members to maintain security and accountability.

3.3 Contact Form Submissions

If you contact us through a form on our website, we collect your name, email address, and the content of your message.

3.4 Website Analytics

We use Vercel Analytics to understand how people use our website. This analytics service:

• Does not use cookies
• Does not track you across other websites
• Does not collect personally identifiable information
• Only collects aggregate data such as page views and general geographic region

3.5 Camera Footage

Our camera network records video of public rights-of-way — streets, sidewalks, and intersections. This footage captures activity in publicly visible spaces. It does not capture the interior of any private residence or private property.

3.6 Information We Do NOT Collect

• Audio recordings of any kind
• Biometric data (we do not run facial recognition or any similar software on footage)
• Data from inside any private residence or private property
• Cookies or cross-site tracking data

4. How We Use Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• To process incident reports. When you submit a report, your information is reviewed by the neighborhood safety committee to determine whether footage retrieval is appropriate.
• To facilitate the footage access process. If the safety committee authorizes footage review, SHP retrieves the relevant footage and makes it available to authorized parties.
• To respond to law enforcement requests. We may release footage in response to a valid subpoena, court order, or other lawful request from law enforcement.
• To communicate with you. If you provided contact information, we may reach out to follow up on your incident report or respond to your inquiry.
• To maintain the security of the platform. We use login activity data to ensure only authorized committee members access the dashboard.
• To improve the website. Aggregate analytics data helps us understand how the site is being used.

We do not:

• Sell your personal information to anyone, ever.
• Use your information for advertising or marketing.
• Share your information with third parties except as described in this policy.
• Use automated decision-making or profiling based on your personal information.

5. The Footage Access Process

Because camera footage involves the privacy of people in our community, we have a structured process for how it can be accessed:

1. Incident report submitted. A community member files a report through our website (or contacts the safety committee directly) describing a specific incident, including the approximate time and location.
2. Safety committee review. The neighborhood's volunteer safety committee reviews the report to assess whether footage retrieval is warranted. The committee is made up of residents who live in the neighborhood.
3. Authorization decision. If the committee determines that footage retrieval is appropriate, they authorize SHP to pull the relevant footage.
4. Footage retrieval. SHP retrieves footage from the relevant camera(s) for the relevant time window only.
5. Footage provided to authorized parties. The footage may be shared with:
   • The resident or business that submitted the report (at committee discretion)
   • Baltimore City Police Department or other law enforcement
   • Other authorized parties as determined by the committee

Footage is not available on demand. No one — including SHP staff — can simply pull and view footage without an authorized incident report or lawful legal process.

6. How We Share Information

We share personal information only in the following circumstances:

• With the safety committee. Incident report details are shared with the authorized neighborhood safety committee for review.
• With law enforcement. We will comply with valid subpoenas, court orders, search warrants, or other lawful legal process. To the extent permitted by law, we will attempt to notify the affected safety committee.
• With service providers. We work with third-party service providers who help us operate our platform. These providers are listed in Section 7 below. They are permitted to use your information only to provide services to us.
• In an emergency. If we believe disclosure is necessary to prevent imminent harm to a person's safety, we may share relevant information without prior authorization.
• With your consent. We may share your information for other purposes if you explicitly agree.

We never sell personal information.

7. Third-Party Services We Use

When you use the location field on our incident report form, you are interacting with Google Maps. Google's own privacy policy governs how Google handles data in connection with that interaction.

8. Data Retention

When data is no longer needed for the purposes described in this policy and no legal requirement requires its retention, we delete or anonymize it.

9. Data Security

We take the security of your information seriously. We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures include:

• Access controls that limit who can retrieve camera footage
• Password protection for the committee dashboard
• Secure, encrypted connections (HTTPS) for our website
• Use of trusted, security-focused hosting infrastructure (Vercel)

No method of data transmission or storage is 100% secure. If we become aware of a data breach that affects your personal information, we will notify you as required by applicable law, including the Maryland Personal Information Protection Act.

10. Your Rights

Under Maryland law and applicable privacy regulations, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information:

• Right to know. You can ask us what personal information we hold about you and how we use it.
• Right to access. You can request a copy of the personal information we have collected about you.
• Right to correction. If you believe information we hold about you is inaccurate, you can ask us to correct it.
• Right to deletion. You can ask us to delete personal information we hold about you. Note that we may be required to retain certain information for legal or operational reasons.
• Right to opt out of sale. We do not sell personal information, so there is nothing to opt out of. But if that ever changes, we will update this policy and provide an opt-out mechanism.

How to exercise your rights: Contact us at support@safehouseprivacy.com or by phone at 443-808-0745. We will respond within 45 days of receiving your request. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.

Note on camera footage: Because our cameras record public rights-of-way, footage may incidentally capture many individuals. We are not always able to identify or locate specific individuals within footage. If you believe you appear in footage related to a specific incident and want to understand how it was used, please contact us.

11. Children's Privacy

Our platform is not directed at children under 13 years of age, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 13 without verifiable parental consent, we will take steps to delete that information. If you believe a child has submitted information to us, please contact us at support@safehouseprivacy.com.

12. Maryland Law Compliance

This policy is designed to be consistent with applicable Maryland privacy and surveillance laws, including:

• Maryland Personal Information Protection Act (Md. Code, Com. Law §§ 14-3501 et seq.) — governs breach notification and the protection of personal information.
• Maryland Online Data Privacy Act of 2024 (MODPA) — a comprehensive state privacy law effective October 1, 2025, governing how organizations handle consumer personal data.
• Maryland wiretapping and surveillance law (Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 10-402) — requires all-party consent to audio recording. We do not record audio.
• Maryland visual surveillance law (Md. Code, Crim. Law § 3-903) — prohibits surreptitious camera placement aimed at private residences. Our cameras are aimed exclusively at public rights-of-way.

We do not sell or share sensitive personal data. We do not use cameras to observe private residences, private areas, or any spaces where individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. When we make material changes, we will update the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, notify community members by email or through a notice on our website.

We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

14. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests related to this Privacy Policy or your personal information, please contact us:

We take privacy concerns seriously. If you contact us with a complaint or concern, we will investigate and respond in a timely manner.